File this under premature articulation.

The drugmaker blames some retailers for getting too excited about a new Advil dosage. It so happens, some unnamed chains began advertising that the stronger version would hit store shelves soon, but there was a problem - the FDA hasn’t yet approved Advil Maximum Strength. So Wyeth is in the unenviable position of running newspaper ads saying the product isn’t available yet.

But why did this happen? Wyeth notified some retailers that distribution of the new product was “imminent,” and a few retailers earlier this month promoted it in store flyers, Wyeth spokesman Doug Petkus tells the Associated Press. Here’s the rub - the FDA told Wyeth on Sept. 14 that it must meet certain conditions before the agency can approve sale of the product.

“We have some items to address,” Petkus confesses, although he declines to identify those items or say which retailers ran notices the product would be for sale soon. “We’re optimistic that within a short period of time we’ll get approval.”

Here’s a lesson for the marketing team - be more specific with your customers until you know for certain the FDA has approved the product.

The Wyeth ads are running in daily newspapers in about 25 major markets, including a half-page ad in Friday’s editions of The New York Times. The ads are also running in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami. The ads state: “Any notice of the availability of Advil Maximum Strength was in error. Advil Maximum Strength is not available for sale. We apologize to our retailers and their shoppers.”

Advil is Wyeth’s brand of the popular, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen. Currently, Wyeth sells Advil in tablet, caplet and gel caplet forms, all in a 200-milligram dose. The Advil line also includes lower-dose children’s products, 200-milligram Advil Migraine and combination versions to relieve pain and symptoms of colds or allergies. Petkus could not immediately say what dose the new product would have.